Non-volatile memory structure

ABSTRACT

A non-volatile memory cell utilizes a programmable conductor random access memory (PCRAM) structure instead of a polysilicon layer for a floating gate. Instead of storing or removing electrons from a floating gate, the programmable conductor is switched between its low and high resistive states to operate the flash memory cell. The resulting cell can be erased faster and has better endurance than a conventional flash memory cell.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/143,729, filed Jun. 3, 2005 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,276,722, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/663,741, filed Sep.17, 2003, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,903,361, the disclosures ofboth applications are incorporated in their entirety by referenceherein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor memorydevices and, more particularly, to a flash memory device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A nonvolatile memory is a type of memory that retains stored data whenpower is removed. There are various types of nonvolatile memoriesincluding e.g., read only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable readonly memories (EPROMs), and electrically erasable programmable read onlymemories (EEPROMs), and flash memory.

Flash memory is often used where regular access to the data stored inthe memory device is desired, but where such data is seldom changed. Forexample, computers often use flash memory to store firmware (e.g., apersonal computer's BIOS). Peripheral devices such as printers may storefonts and forms on flash memory. Wireless communications devices such ascellular and other wireless telephones use flash memory to store dataand their operating systems. Portable electronics such as digitalcameras, audio recorders, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and testequipment use flash memory cards as a storage medium.

Flash memory cells make use of a floating-gate covered with aninsulating layer. There is also a control gate which overlays theinsulating layer. Below the floating gate is another insulating layersandwiched between the floating gate and the cell substrate. Thisinsulating layer is an oxide layer and is often referred to as thetunnel oxide. The substrate contains doped source and drain regions,with a channel region disposed between the source and drain regions. Thefloating-gate transistors generally include n-channel floating-gatefield-effect transistors, but may also include p-channel floating-gatefield-effect transistors. Access operations are carried out by applyingbiases to the transistor.

In a flash memory device, cells are often organized into blocks and thecharge state of the floating gate indicates the logical state of thecell. For example, a charged floating gate may represent a logical “1”while a non-charged floating gate may represent a logical “0.” A flashmemory cell may be programmed to a desired state by first erasing thecell to a logical “0” and, if necessary, writing the cell to a logical“1.” Typically, flash memory devices are organized so that a writeoperation can target a specific cell while an erase operation affects anentire block of cells. Changing any portion of one block thereforerequires erasing the entire block and writing those bits in the blockwhich correspond to a logical “1”.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a conventional flash memory cell 10 includes asource region 26 and a drain region 28. The source 26 and drain 28 havean N+ type conductivity formed in a P-type substrate 20. The memory cell10 has a stack-gate configuration which includes a cap layer 22 formedover a control gate 18 formed over an insulating layer 16 formed over afloating gate 14 formed over a tunnel oxide layer 12. The floating gate14 is formed of a first polysilicon layer and the control gate 18 isformed of a second polysilicon layer. The floating gate 14 is isolatedfrom the control gate 18 by the insulating layer 16 and from a channelregion 30 of the substrate 20 by the tunnel oxide layer 12. The tunneloxide layer is generally about 100 Angstroms thick.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the conventional flash memory cell 10 is shownduring a programming operation. A positive programming voltage Vp of,e.g., about 12 volts is applied to the control gate 18. The positiveprogramming voltage Vp attracts electrons 32 from the P-type substrate20 and causes them to accumulate at the surface of channel region 30. Avoltage on drain 28 Vd is increased to, e.g., about 6 volts, and thesource 26 is connected to ground Vs. As the drain-to-source voltageincreases, electrons 32 flow from the source 26 to the drain 28 viachannel region 30. As electrons 32 travel toward the drain 28, theyacquire substantial high kinetic energy and are typically referred to as“hot” electrons.

The voltages at the control gate 18 and the drain 28 create an electricfield in the oxide layer 12, which attracts the hot electrons andaccelerates them toward the floating gate 14. At this point, thefloating gate 14 begins to trap and accumulate the hot electrons. Thisis a charging process. As the charge on the floating gate 14 increases,the electric field in the oxide layer 12 decreases gradually andeventually loses its capability of attracting more hot electrons to thefloating gate 14. At this point, the floating gate 14 is fully charged.The cell 10 will turn on when the voltage on the control gate 18 isbrought to the threshold voltage level of the cell 10. Sense amplifiersare used in the memory to detect and amplify the state of the memorycell during a read operation.

Electrons are removed from the floating gate 14 to erase the memorycell. Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling may be used to erase the memorycell 10. The erase procedure is accomplished by electrically floatingthe drain 28, grounding the source 26, and applying a high negativevoltage (e.g., −12 volts) to the control gate 18. This creates anelectric field across the tunnel oxide layer 12 and forces electrons offof the floating gate 14 and to then tunnel through the tunnel oxidelayer 12 back to the substrate 20.

The erase operation requires high voltages and is relatively slow. Thehigh erase voltages are a fundamental problem arising from the highelectron affinity of bulk silicon or large grain polysilicon particlesused as the floating gate. This creates a very high tunneling barrier.Even with high negative voltages applied to the gate, a large tunnelingdistance is experienced with a very low tunneling probability forelectrons attempting to leave the floating gate. This results in longerase times since the net flux of electrons leaving the gate is low.Thus, the tunneling current discharging the gate is low. In addition,other phenomena result as a consequence of this very high negativevoltage. Hole injection into the oxide is experienced which can resultin erratic over erase, damage to the gate oxide itself, and theintroduction of trapping states. Accordingly, there is a desire and needfor a new flash memory cell architecture, which overcomes theaforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a flash memory cell in which thefloating gate is implemented using a programmable conductance randomaccess memory structure instead of the traditional polysilicon layer.Instead of storing or removing electrons from a polysilicon layer, theprogrammable conductance is switched between its low and high resistivestates to operate the cell. The resulting cell can be erased faster andhas better endurance (i.e., can withstand a greater number oferase/write cycles) than a conventional flash memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other advantages and features of the invention willbecome more apparent from the detailed description of exemplaryembodiments of the invention given below with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a prior art flash memory cell;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of how the prior art flash memory cell of FIG.1 is programmed;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment of a flash memory cell of theinvention;

FIGS. 4-5 are cross-section illustrations of a flash memory cell of theinvention at various stages of fabrication;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of the flash memory cell of the inventioncoupled to a word line and a bit line;

FIG. 7 is an illustration of how the flash memory cell of an embodimentof the invention may be programmed;

FIG. 8 is an illustration of a flash memory device incorporating theflash memory cell of an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 9 is an illustration of a computer system incorporating the flashmemory device of FIG. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shownby way, of illustration of specific embodiments in which the inventionmay be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized, and that structural, logical and electrical changes may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The terms “wafer” and “substrate” are to be understood as includingsilicon, silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-sapphire (SOS)technology, doped and undoped semiconductors, epitaxial layers ofsilicon supported by a base semiconductor foundation, and othersemiconductor structures. Furthermore, when reference is made to a“wafer” or “substrate” in the following description, previous processsteps may have been utilized to form regions or junctions in the basesemiconductor structure or foundation. In addition, the semiconductorneed not be silicon-based, but could be based on silicon-germanium,germanium, or gallium-arsenide.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is shown a flash memory cell 100 of anembodiment of the invention. The cell 100 uses a programmableconductance structure 115, 117, 119 to replace the floating gate of theconventional flash memory cell (FIGS. 1-2). Accordingly, anon-polysilicon variable resistance material capable of being switchedfrom a first logic state to a second logic state is provided to promoteelectron tunneling through a tunnel oxide layer. Unlike a floating gatestructure, electrons are not stored to operate the flash memory cell;instead, the programmable conductance structure is switched betweenresistance states. This results in faster erase times and greaterendurance for the cell 100.

The programmable conductance structure 115, 117, 119 includes aprogrammable conductance in the form of a metal-doped chalcogenide glassdisposed between two electrodes (conductive layers). The primaryadvantage of using a programmable conductance is that programmableconductance structures are not susceptible to the leakage currentinduced damage experienced by floating gates during erase cycles. Thus,a flash memory device utilizing a variable resistance material includinga programmable conductor will have a greater endurance, as measured bythe number of times each cell can be rewritten (i.e., erased andwritten).

FIGS. 4 and 5 are cross-sectional views of a flash memory cell 100 atvarious stages of fabrication in accordance with the invention.Referring to FIG. 4, a gate dielectric layer, often referred to as gateoxide layer or a tunnel oxide layer (hereinafter T.O. layer) 112, isformed over a substrate 110, such as a wafer of single crystallinesilicon (Si) or other material. The substrate 110 may be implanted witha p-type dopant to produce a p-type substrate.

The tunnel oxide layer 112 comprises a dielectric material, whichpreferably comprises an oxide material. The oxide may be formed bythermal or other oxidation techniques. Other dielectric materials may beused for the T.O. layer 112. Specific examples include silicon oxides,silicon nitrides and silicon oxynitrides.

The structure 114 of the flash memory cell 100 includes a firstelectrode 115, a variable resistance material 117, and a secondelectrode 119 which are formed over the tunnel oxide layer 112. Aninsulating cap layer 122 is generally formed overlying the secondelectrode 119.

Although layer 117 is shown as a single material, it should berecognized that layer 117 may itself be comprised of a plurality oflayers. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, layer 117 is comprisedof a first layer comprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀, a second layer (formed over thefirst layer) comprised of Ag, and/or Se (e.g., the second layer might bea single layer of Ag₂Se, or a layer of Ag₂Se formed over a layer of Ag),a third layer formed over the second layer, the third layer comprisingGe₄₀Se₆₀, a fourth layer formed over said third layer comprising Ag, anda fifth layer formed over said fourth layer comprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀. In oneexemplary embodiment, the first and third layer may be about 150angstrom in thickness, and the fifth layer may be about 100 angstrom inthickness. The fourth layer may be approximately 200 angstrom inthickness. Finally, the second layer may be a 470 angstrom layer ofAg₂Se formed over a 35-50 angstrom layer of Ag.

The first electrode 115 is formed over the tunnel oxide layer 112. Thefirst electrode 115 may comprise any conductive material, for example,tungsten, nickel, tantalum, aluminum, platinum, or silver, among manyothers.

The variable resistance material 117 is formed over the first electrode115. One preferred material 117 comprises a chalcogenide glass. Aspecific example is germanium-selenide (Ge_(x)Se_(100−x)) containing asilver (Ag) component. A preferred germanium-selenide stoichiometricrange of the resistance variable material 117 is between about Ge₁₈Se₈₂to about Ge₄₃Se₅₇ and is more preferably about Ge₂₀Se₈₀.

One method of providing silver to germanium-selenide composition is toinitially form a germanium-selenide glass and then deposit a thin layerof silver upon the glass, for example by sputtering, physical vapordeposition, or other known techniques in the art. The layer of silver isirradiated, preferably with electromagnetic energy at a wavelength lessthan 600 nanometers, so that the energy passes through the silver and tothe silver/glass interface, to break a chalcogenide bond of thechalcogenide material such that the glass is doped or photodoped withsilver. Another method for providing silver to the glass is to provide alayer of silver-selenide on a germanium-selenide glass.

The variable resistance material 117 is generally formed of dielectricmaterial having a conductive material, such as silver, incorporatedtherein. The resistance of the variable resistance material 117 can beprogrammed between two bi-stable states having high and low resistances.The variable resistance material 117 is normally in a high resistancestate. A write operation placing the material 117 into a low resistancestate is performed by applying a voltage potential across the twoelectrodes 115, 119. A write operation placing the material into a highresistance state is performed by applying a reversed voltage potentialacross the two electrodes 115, 119. Accordingly the state of the flashmemory cell will be determined by the potential applied to the structure114.

The second conductive electrode 119 is formed over the variableresistance material 117. The second electrode 119 may comprise anyelectrically conductive material, for example, tungsten, tantalum,titanium, or silver, among many others. Typically, the second electrode119 comprises silver.

A cap layer 122 is generally formed overlying the structure 114, and inparticular, overlying the second electrode 119, to act as an insulatorand barrier layer. The cap layer 122 contains an insulator and mayinclude such insulators as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and siliconoxynitrides. Preferably, the cap layer 122 is a silicon nitride, formedby such methods as chemical vapor deposition (CVD). An example of theresulting structure is depicted in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 5, the tunnel oxide layer 112, the first electrode 115, thevariable resistance material 117, second electrode 119, and the caplayer 122 illustrated in FIG. 4 are patterned to define the gate 150. Itis noted that additional layers may form the gate 150, such as barrierlayers to inhibit diffusion between opposing layers of adhesion layersto promote adhesion between opposing layers.

A source region 126 and a drain region 128 are formed adjacent to thegate 150 as conductive regions having a second conductivity typedifferent than the conductivity type of the substrate 110. For example,the source and drain regions 126 and 128 are n-type regions formed byimplantation and/or diffusion or n-type dopants, such as arsenic orphosphorus. The edges of the source and drain regions 126 and 128 aregenerally made to coincide with, or underlap, the gate edges. As anexample, the source and drain regions 126 and 128 may be formed usinglight doped regions, as know in the art. Referring to FIG. 6, at leastthe second electrode 119 of the gate 150 is coupled to a word line 190.The source 126 and drain 128 are coupled to respective bit lines 192.

The sidewalls of the gate 150 are insulated using sidewall spacers 124as shown in FIG. 3. The sidewall spacers 124 contain an insulator andmay include the same materials as the cap layer 122. The sidewallspacers 124 are typically formed by blanket deposition an insulatinglayer, such as a layer of silicon nitride, over the entire structure andthen anisotropically etching the insulating layer to preferentiallyremove the horizontal regions and to leave only the vertical regionsadjacent the sidewalls of the gate 150.

Referring now to FIG. 7, to write (i.e., program) the memory cell 100, apositive programming voltage Vp of about 8 volts to 12 volts is appliedto the second electrode 119. This positive programming voltage Vpattracts electrons 132 from p-type substrate 110 and causes them toaccumulate toward the surface of channel region 130. A drain 128 voltageVd is increased to about 6 volts, and the source 126 is connected toground. As the drain-to-source voltage increase, electrons 132 begin toflow from the source 126 to the drain 128 via channel region 130. Theelectrons 132 acquire substantially large kinetic energy and arereferred to as hot electrons.

The voltage difference between the second electrode 119 and drain 128creates an electric field through the tunnel oxide layer 112, thiselectric field attracts the hot electrons 132 and accelerates themtowards the first electrode 115. The first electrode 115 starts to trapand accumulate the hot electrons 132, beginning the charging process. Asthe charge on the first electrode 115 increase, the electric fieldthrough tunnel oxide layer 112 decrease and eventually loses itcapability of attracting any more of the hot electrons. At this point,the first electrode 115 has sufficient charge, such that the voltagepotential across the two electrodes causes a conductive path to formacross the variable resistance material 117 from the second electrode119 to the first electrode 115. A threshold voltage Vt of the memorycells is equivalent to the voltage potential across the two electrodeswhich causes the conductive path to form. Since the typicalnon-programmed state of a variable resistance material 117 is the highresistance state (e.g., logical “0”), the memory element is programmedby an applied voltage to place the memory element into a low resistancestate (e.g., logical “1”). The resistance between the two electrodes115, 119 of the cell thus becomes a function of the presence or absenceof a conductive path in the cell 100.

The memory cell 100 may be erased using Fowler-Nordheim (FN) tunneling.More specifically, the drain 128 is electrically floated, the source 126is grounded, and a high negative voltage (e.g., about −12 volts) isapplied to the second electrode 119. This creates an electric fieldacross the tunnel oxide layer 112 and forces electrons 132 off of thefirst electrode 115 which then tunnel through the tunnel oxide layer 112to the source region 126. Additionally, the conductive path begins toretract, which in turn increases the resistance of the memory cell 100to coincide with the high resistance state (e.g., logical “0”).

A read operation is performed by sensing a difference caused by thememory cell 100 being in a first programmed state (e.g., logical “1”) ora second programmed state (e.g., logical “0”). Referring now to FIG. 7,a read operation can be started by applying a reading voltage to thesecond electrode 119. The reading voltage is chosen so that when thememory cell 100 is in the first programmed state, an inversion layer 140is formed in the channel region 130 below the tunnel oxide layer 112,and when the memory cell 100 is in the second programmed state, noinversion layer 140 is formed. The inversion layer 140 can be thought ofas an extension of the source/drain regions 126/128 into the channelregion 130. As discussed below, the presence or absence of an inversionlayer 140 can be used to cause a difference in bit line capacitance orcurrent flow through the cell 100.

A memory cell 100 in the first programmed state (and thus having aninversion layer 140) would have a greater bit line capacitance than thesame memory cell 100 in the second programmed state (not having aninversion layer 140). The increase in capacitance in the firstprogrammed state is due to the inversion layer 140 coupling anadditional source/drain junction in the memory cell 100. Similarly, if asmall (e.g., about 0.3-0.8 volt) forward bias is applied to the targetbit line, a memory cell 100 in the first programmed state (and having aninversion layer) would have a higher level of forward current flowthrough the bit line than the same memory cell 100 in the secondprogrammed state (and not having an inversion layer). The increase incurrent flow in the first programmed state is due to the inversion layer140 creating a larger a larger effective diode area for the bit lineforward current through the memory cell 100.

The memory cell 100 can then be read by conventionally sensing the abovedescribed differences between the two programmed states. For example, asensing scheme may include precharging a target bit line and a referencebit line to respective reference levels, coupling the target bit line tothe memory cell 100 while the reading voltage is on, and sensing adifference in voltage between said target bit line and said referencebit line after a predetermined time.

FIG. 8 is an illustration of flash memory device 200. The flash memorydevice 200 includes a plurality of individually erasable blocks 201.Each block 201 includes a plurality of flash memory cells 100 (FIG. 3).The blocks 201 are coupled to a row control circuit 202 and a columncontrol circuit 203, for addressing and controlling reading, writing,and erasing of one or more memory cells 100 (FIG. 3) of a selected block201. The column control circuit 203 is also coupled to a write buffer204, which holds data to be written and to input/output buffers 205 forbuffering off-device communications. A controller 206, coupled to therow control circuit 202, column control circuit 203, and input/outputbuffers 205, coordinates the reading, writing, and erasing of the device200.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary processing system 900 which may utilizethe memory device 200 of the present invention. The memory device 200may be found, for example, in a memory component 908 of the system 900.The processing system 900 includes one or more processors 901 coupled toa local bus 904. A memory controller 902 and a primary bus bridge 903are also coupled the local bus 904. The processing system 900 mayinclude multiple memory controllers 902 and/or multiple primary busbridges 903. The memory controller 902 and the primary bus bridge 903may be integrated as a single device 906.

The memory controller 902 is also coupled to one or more memory buses907. Each memory bus accepts memory components 908 which include atleast one memory device 200 of the present invention. The memorycomponents 908 may be a memory card or a memory module. Examples ofmemory modules include single inline memory modules (SIMMs) and dualinline memory modules (DIMMs). The memory components 908 may include oneor more additional devices 909. For example, in a SIMM or DIMM, theadditional device 909 might be a configuration memory, such as a serialpresence detect (SPD) memory. The memory controller 902 may also becoupled to a cache memory 905. The cache memory 905 may be the onlycache memory in the processing system. Alternatively, other devices, forexample, processors 901 may also include cache memories, which may forma cache hierarchy with cache memory 905. If the processing system 900include peripherals or controllers which are bus masters or whichsupport direct memory access (DMA), the memory controller 902 mayimplement a cache coherency protocol. If the memory controller 902 iscoupled to a plurality of memory buses 907, each memory bus 907 may beoperated in parallel, or different address ranges may be mapped todifferent memory buses 907.

The primary bus bridge 903 is coupled to at least one peripheral bus910. Various devices, such as peripherals or additional bus bridges maybe coupled to the peripheral bus 910. These devices may include astorage controller 911, a miscellaneous I/O device 914, a secondary busbridge 915 communicating with a secondary bus 916, a multimediaprocessor 918, and a legacy device interface 920. The primary bus bridge903 may also coupled to one or more special purpose high speed ports922. In a personal computer, for example, the special purpose port mightbe the Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP), used to couple a highperformance video card to the processing system 900.

The storage controller 911 couples one or more storage devices 913, viaa storage bus 912, to the peripheral bus 910. For example, the storagecontroller 911 may be a SCSI controller and storage devices 913 may beSCSI discs. The I/O device 914 may be any sort of peripheral. Forexample, the I/O device 914 may be an local area network interface, suchas an Ethernet card. The secondary bus bridge 915 may be used tointerface additional devices via another bus to the processing system.For example, the secondary bus bridge may be an universal serial port(USB) controller used to couple USB devices 917 via to the processingsystem 900. The multimedia processor 918 may be a sound card, a videocapture card, or any other type of media interface, which may also becoupled to one additional devices such as speakers 919. The legacydevice interface 920 is used to couple at least one legacy device 921,for example, older styled keyboards and mice, to the processing system900.

The processing system 900 illustrated in FIG. 9 is only an exemplaryprocessing system with which the invention may be used. While FIG. 9illustrates a processing architecture especially suitable for a generalpurpose computer, such as a personal computer or a workstation, itshould be recognized that well known modifications can be made toconfigure the processing system 900 to become more suitable for use in avariety of applications. For example, many electronic devices whichrequire processing may be implemented using a simpler architecture whichrelies on a CPU 901 coupled to memory components 908 and/or memorydevices 100.

While the invention has been described in detail in connection with theexemplary embodiment, it should be understood that the invention is notlimited to the above disclosed embodiment. Rather, the invention can bemodified to incorporate any number of variations, alternations,substitutions, or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, butwhich are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the foregoing descriptionor drawings, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.

1. A memory cell, comprising: a substrate, the substrate including asource region and a drain region; a first insulating material over thesubstrate; a first conductive material and a second conductive materialover the first insulating material and between the source and drainregions; a programmable resistance element formed between the first andsecond conductive materials, the programmable resistance element havinga resistance which is controllable between at least two states.
 2. Thememory cell of claim 1, wherein the programmable resistance element iscomprised of a chalcogenide glass.
 3. The memory cell of claim 2,wherein the chalcogenide glass comprises Ge_(x)Se_(100−x).
 4. The memorycell of claim 3, wherein x has a range of from 18 to
 43. 5. The memorycell of claim 2, wherein the chalcogenide glass is doped with a metal.6. The memory cell of claim 2, wherein the chalcogenide glass is dopedwith silver.
 7. The memory cell of claim 1, wherein the first and secondconductive materials are comprised of one of tungsten, nickel, tantalum,aluminum, platinum, and silver.
 8. The memory cell of claim 1, whereinthe programmable resistance element is a multi-material structurecomprised of: first and second portions comprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀; a thirdportion between the first and second materials, the third portioncomprising at least one of silver and silver selenide; a fourth portionbetween the second and third materials, the fourth portion comprisingGe₄₀Se₆₀; a fifth portion between the second and fourth portion, thefifth portion comprising silver.
 9. A memory device, comprising: acontrol circuit; a memory array, coupled to the control circuit, thememory array further comprising a plurality of blocks, each of theplurality of blocks including a plurality of memory cells, wherein eachof the memory cells comprises, a substrate, the substrate having asource region and a drain region; a first insulating material over thesubstrate; a first conductive material and a second conductive materialover the first insulating material and between the source and drainregions; a programmable resistance element formed between the first andsecond conductive materials, the programmable resistance element havinga resistance which is controllable between at least two states.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9, wherein the programmable resistance element iscomprised of a chalcogenide glass.
 11. The device of claim 10, whereinthe chalcogenide glass is comprised of germanium-selenide.
 12. Thedevice of claim 10, wherein the chalcogenide glass is doped with ametal.
 13. The device of claim 12, wherein the chalcogenide glass isdoped with silver.
 14. The memory cell of claim 9, wherein theprogrammable resistance element is a multi-material structure comprisedof: first and second portions comprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀; a third portionbetween the first and second materials, the third portion comprising atleast one of silver and silver selenide; a fourth portion between thesecond and third materials, the fourth portion comprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀; afifth portion between the second and fourth portion, the fifth portioncomprising silver.
 15. A processor based system, comprising: aprocessor; a memory device, the memory device including a plurality ofmemory cells, wherein each of the memory cells comprises: a substrate,the substrate having a source region and a drain region; a firstinsulating material over the substrate; a first conductive material anda second conductive material over the first insulating material andbetween the source and drain regions; a programmable resistance elementhaving a resistance which is controllable between at least two statesand formed between the first and second conductive materials, theprogrammable resistance element comprising: first and second portions ofGe₄₀Se₆₀; a third portion between the first and second portions, thethird portion comprising at least one of silver and a silver-selenide; afourth portion between the second and third portions, the fourth portioncomprising Ge₄₀Se₆₀; a fifth portion between the second and fourthportion, the fifth portion comprising silver.
 16. The device of claim15, wherein at least on of the first, second and fourth portions isdoped with a metal.
 17. The device of claim 16, wherein the metalcomprises silver.